Some observations on alternative mechanisms for public involvement: The hearing, public opinion poll, the workshop and the quasi-experiment

摘要: When trying to respond to public needs and requirements for public involvement the natural resource manager is hard pressed to determine the most effective means to obtain such input. Large scale efforts to discover public sentiment may be expensive and time consuming and may yield little new information. On the other hand, failure to involve the public may seriously misguide projects or lead to delays and increased costs if a project is halted by court or administrative actions. The goal of this paper is to review several alternative mechanisms for public involvement and to discuss their strengths and weaknesses to help managers choose the technique most useful for their needs. The analysis will be qualitative, based on observation of both public and private attempts at public involvement and on the relatively meager secondary sources available. Two things ought to be noted at the outset. Public involvement will …